The present invention relates to magnetic tape cassettes for use in presently avilable tape cassette recorders. More particularly, this invention provides an improved tape cassette which has excellent operating and recording and playback characteristics.
The conventional tape cassette includes two hubs or spools of tape wound on rotatably mounted cores adapted to be driven by drive spindles on tape recorders adapted to receive such a cassette.
The cassette housing, usually in the form of two shells or trays which are sealed together to form a generally flat rectangular compartment, has various openings to enable cooperation of the recorder with the tape in the cassette, for example, tape heads for record, playback (reproducing), erase, and the tape drive mechanism.
The housing of tape cassettes in general have a window provided in the front housing wall for admitting the recording - reproducing head, and at each side of this window is located a pin, integral with the housing, to restrict the position of the magnetic tape. Behind these two pins are provided a pressure assembly comprising a head pressure pad and a shield plate. The cassette includes roller posts and various other guide members defining the path of the tape from one spool past the various openings in the cassette housing to the other spool. With this arrangement of essential elements associated with that portion of the magnetic tape coming into running contact with the head, the tape in motion is compelled to move through a given path. Thus, the running mode of the tape in the window section relative to the magnetic head is determined by the shapes of the two cassette housing halves and is dependent upon the precision with the housing is fabricated. Because of the variations in "identical" cassette housings, due to production tolerances, the tape moving through the magnetic head section of the cassette is biased to one side of the tape path. There is accordingly some difference in sensitivity between the two tracks, "A" side and "B" side, of the tape.